Mesopithecus Explained

Mesopithecus ("middle monkey" for being between Hylobates and Semnopithecus in build) is an extinct genus of Old World monkey that lived in Europe and Asia 7 to 5 million years ago.^{[1] [2] [3]} Mesopithecus resembled a modern macaque, with a body length of about 40cm (20inches). It was adapted to both walking and climbing, possessing a slender body with long, muscular limbs and flexible fingers. Its teeth suggest that it primarily ate soft leaves and fruit.^[4] It was once thought that these extinct monkeys might be an ancestor of the grey langur, but a study in 2004^[5] suggested that they are more closely related to the snub-nosed monkeys and doucs.

External links

• Web site: Rare Mesopithecus skull unearthed in Chalkidiki. Anaweb. https://web.archive.org/web/20061007165444/http://www.ana.gr/anaweb/user/showplain?maindoc=4469149&maindocimg=4469134&service=10. 2006-10-07. dead.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Fossils of 6.4-Million-Year-Old Monkey Found in China. sci-news. https://web.archive.org/web/20230626033532/https://www.sci.news/paleontology/mesopithecus-pentelicus-china-08937.html. 2023-06-26. live.
2. Xueping Ji, Dionisios Youlatos, Nina G. Jablonski, Ruliang Pan, Chunxia Zhang, Pei Li, Min Tang, Tengsong Yu, Wenqi Li, Chenglong Deng, Song Li. 2020. Journal of Human Evolution. 147. 102866. 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102866. 32862123 . 2020JHumE.14702866J .
3. Jablonski, Nina G. . et al.. Mesopithecus pentelicus from Zhaotong, China, the easternmost representative of a widespread Miocene cercopithecoid species . 6 August 2020 . . 145 . 102851 . 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102851 . 32771770 . free . 2020JHumE.14602851J .
4. Book: Palmer, D.. 1999 . The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. Marshall Editions. London. 289. 1-84028-152-9.
5. Pan . Ruliang . Groves . Colin . Oxnard . Charles . Relationships between the fossil colobine Mesopithecus pentelicus and extant cercopithecoids, based on dental metrics . American Journal of Primatology . 62 . 287–299 . 2004 . 2009-01-26 . 10.1002/ajp.20022 . 15085533 . 4 . 6688467 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080727150615/http://arts.anu.edu.au/grovco/Mesopithecus%20Pan%20Oxnard.pdf . 2008-07-27.